Humanitarian overview
Decades of conflict and severe drought have affected Eritrea's agriculture-based economy. The country is one of the least developed countries in the world and ranked 176 out of 191 countries on UNDP's 2021/22 Human Development Index (HDI).
The signing of the Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship by the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia on 9 July 2018 brought 18 years of a "no war, no peace" situation with neighbouring Ethiopia to an end. Consequently, diplomatic relationships were restored, with missions opened in the two capitals. Air travel resumed between the two countries. Eritrea restored diplomatic ties with Somalia and Djibouti while the United Nations Security Council voted to lift sanctions against Eritrea which had affected the social and economic structure of the Eritrean society.
Despite efforts to provide education to its citizens, school enrolment rates are still very low. As a result, there is a significantly large and growing population of Eritrean youth who are uneducated, unemployed and lack relevant job skills and training that can enable them to engage in productive work to earn a living.
NRC's operation
Currently there are no activities/projects ongoing in Eritrea CO.
With funding, there will be opportunities with marginalised people, out-of-school youth and vulnerable female-headed households from remote areas. Due to the high number of uneducated youth and the lack of NGO partners, we wish to launch an extensive vocational skills training programme and economic support to women.
We would like to provide alternative options for Eritrean youth and work to increase opportunities for better and more diverse jobs, improved self-reliance and reliable livelihoods.
Education
We plan to provide education opportunities for children and youth to improve their chances of employment in Eritrea. NRC will work closely with the Ministry of Education to:
- provide vocational training in pottery, weaving, hairdressing, electrical installation, masonry, plumbing, irrigation skills, fishery and net making, computing, photography and video editing
- train students in business management and provide them with start-up kits after graduation to help them start their own businesses
- provide on-the-job training for teachers
- equip vocational training centres with relevant machinery, tools and supplies
- support in the development of a training curriculum
